Hi,
There is nothing as a "warning letter" for the IT industry specifically!!!
Each establishment is covered either by the Factories Act or by Shops and Commercial Establishments Act of the region. IT companies would normally be covered under the Shops and........ Act.
A warning letter falls in the province of "management of discipline" and if a particular law is applicable one has to follow the same. Under certain conditions, both types of establishments will get covered under the "Industrial Establishments (Standing Orders) Act 1946 that sanctifies the authority of the employer to issue a "warning letter" if an employee by his acts of commission or omission (as stipulated in the act) commits indiscipline!
If this act is somehow NOT applicable, then the basic terms and conditions of employment that bind the employer-employee relationship or the Service Rules (if framed and issued to the employees) will empower the employer to respond to employee indiscipline in an appropriate manner, including the issuance of the warning letter.
Above all this, please note that the employer has an inherent right to discipline its employees whether within the framework of applicable law or within the parameters of "principles of natural justice".
Further, there is no "standard format" for a "warning letter". One must write formally to the employee stating in a simple and forthright manner the situation (or the acts of commission/omission) being held against and that in the company's view it tantamount indiscipline and finally that a "warning" is being recorded against him/her in their record.
Remember that a warning is a "slur" on an employee's record and will have to be taken cognizance of in matters of his growth. Unjustly handled, it may strain employer-employee relations or collectively the employee morale! The simple rule in the management of discipline is that the severity of punishment must always be proportionate to the gravity of misconduct!
Because we have a gun in our hands, we need not be trigger-happy or be indiscriminate in using it!
Cheers!
Regards,
Samvedan
January 28, 2007